How to start a foundation for charity

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   medorposted 13 years ago

   i am beginning a PTSD Survivor Support Group and will begin receiving funds soon.  so what to do about the money?  How do i set up accounts?  when we get funding and support how do i deal with this?  what if contributors want to deduct their contributions on their taxes?  help me...
   

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      shazwellynposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I would have thought you would have thought about this BEFORE receiving funds.  Are you set up as a registered charity?  Surely this is the first port of call.  What about your committee members?  Are you for real???!

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         medorposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         yes, my fellow hubbers is usually my first port of call because you rock... I have received no funds, I do have committee members... i am for real... thanks... any other advice... please let lme know

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   Website Examinerposted 13 years ago

   I hate to tell you this, but I believe you need a tax lawyer. These things are no joke. You want to be sure to meet all requirements for tax exempt status in your jurisdiction. If you improvize and things go wrong, both your foundation and your donors could hurt financially.

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      medorposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      thanks... i appreciate your concern... tax lawyer... check.

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   Website Examinerposted 13 years ago

   Seems that the OP is from Michigan. If the non-profit is located in the US, there is a pretty well-established process for obtaining tax exempt status. Registration is required, incorporation is not. It is relatively easy to obtain, but no one should be under the illusion that the authorities will not audit and may revoke the tax exemption if all criteria are not met.

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      shazwellynposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The OP is living life deluded if she is asking in a forum about serious issues like charity status etc.  The first port of call has to be a good accountant!

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         Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, Ma'am.

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            medorposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            anyone know of a good tax accountant that does work to set up charities?

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               shazwellynposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I am not even going to go down this road of a windup!

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                  Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Shazwellyn, are you insinuating something here? If so, what is on your mind?

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                     shazwellynposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     WE... the op cant be serious!  She is obviously on a wind up (wind up like winding a clock up... provoking a reaction...), she cant be for real!  She ought to go and do a bit of research before she sets up business (and a charity is like any other business).  It seems she is totally clueless!

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                        Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Aha. Thanks for answering.

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                           shazwellynposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           Always glad to appease you dear WE x

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                        medorposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        sometimes being clueless is very good because you are not constrained by boundries... so what is your problem with my sincere desire to ask for other's opinion   and what is an op?

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                           Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           Shazwellyn can answer for herself, but I would like to add my understanding of what she is saying:
                           
                           In your original post, you (the OP) conveyed the impression of being in the advanced stages of rasing funds, with money expected to flow in soon. You also conveyed the impression of being part of a group. I believe that for Shazwellyn, who has experience in these matters, it defies logic that you could have gotten to such an advanced stage without even looking into the formalities. In other words, it could seem as if you have led us to believe that what is in fact merely an idea at this stage is indeed a well-advanced project. That is my reading of it.

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                        simeonvisserposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Actually, the longer I look around, the less I am surprised by human ignorance.

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         medorposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         does anyone know a good accountant that does work to set up foundations or charities

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   Dame Scribeposted 13 years ago

   A business plan would have all this info in place already and no real need for questions as most if not all the answers would be in the plan as long as proper research has been done.

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   Aficionadaposted 13 years ago

   There is a website where you can check out local lawyers and their specialties (but only if they are registered there, I think).  I browsed once when we were looking for someone in another state who could help us with some Elder Law matters, but I forget the name of the site.  WE, do you know the name of the site I am talking about?  It was a lawyer who told me about it initially, but it has been many months ago.  It might be a place for medor to get started.

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      Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      That would be FindLaw. A valuable Internet property owned by Thomson Reuters.

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      medorposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      thanks so much... findlaw...eah

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